SCL Health would like to invest in you by offering advanced training courses in nursing starting February 25, 2019. If you are an RN who is interested in advancing your career into a specialty of Emergency, Critical Care or Operating Room nursing, this program is for you.

Here’s How the Process Works

This is a full-time program offering a mix of didactic learning and clinical preceptorship (10 weeks for Emergency and Critical Care and 24 weeks for Operating Room).

You will be compensated for training hours and will be benefit-eligible.

The training program comes with a two-year commitment to SCL Health.

Interested candidates must apply via https://jobs.sclhealth.org prior to 5 p.m. MST on December 5, 2018 to be considered for the program.

Along with hospitals across the nation, PVMC recognized and honored our nurses during National Hospital Week (May 6-12) for their professionalism and for the care and kindness they provide every day to our patients and their families.

The Perinatal Department would like to recognize Beth Thompson RN, L&D for obtaining the National Certification Corporation’s Inpatient Obstetric Nursing certification. This recognizes the applied and theoretical knowledge Beth possesses in the obstetric specialty. Congratulations Beth, we are proud to have you a part of our team!

(The following a typed version of a letter from a patient who would like to remain anonymous.)

11-30-2013

To All Concerned:

I want to say a big thank you to the staff on the 2nd floor Med/Surg Unit.

I came in on Thanksgiving Day afraid, stressed, hurting like I had never experienced. I was embarassed to have to come in by ambulance and fearful. The ED staff were superb, warm, reassuring and aware of my situation. They protected my privacy.

My nurses, Laura, Jessie and Jamie were !!! No true words to describe the care, compassion, warmth and personality that are just part of their natural selves. While my stay was of physicial nature, the emotional stress I was going through was unsurpassed.

These angels listened, wiped my tears and gave me hugs and reassurance. The nursing assistants were never too busy to make you feel special. Shakera even took a couple minutes to sit with me and talk about my crocheting hobby.

As a veteran acute care nurse, I can only hope that I gave even 25% of the quality of care that I received from these true angels.

Thanks to all of you.

(Name to remain private)

To All:

It’s become a common occurrence for us to receive glowing letters like the one shared above. It’s not lost on me that each and every patient letter is a personal reflection on us personally, as well as a hospital culture. I think the holidays are a nice time to pause and remember the extensive (and memorable) impact our interactions with patients and family have on a daily basis (in this case, Thanksgiving Day).

To be sure, we have much to be proud of over the past year, but ultimately it’s the small things that most patients remember when they share their perspective on their experience at PVMC. I want to take the opportunity to recognize and thank each of those mentioned here, but also to acknowledge the many over-and-above acts of kindness and empathy that play out in our hospital each day. Thank you and congratulations to the “angels” mentioned here as well as those whose acts go quietly unrecognized every day of the year. You make a tremendous difference in the lives of those we serve!

Just a note of grateful recognition and thanks to each of you on this Nurses’ Day. The words “World Class” are likely overused in this era of superlatives; however the phrase is well-deserved in describing the quality and commitment seen in PVMC’s nursing team, especially over this past year.

We all know that what truly separates the good from the great are the personal, nuanced components of our daily patient care routine. Our patients expect high quality, safe care. But to have that care delivered with compassion and individualized attention to detail…that’s where we beat the expectation. So it’s really no surprise that the work our nurses do is of the highest regard by our community.

Sometimes we forget the higher calling that drew us to our profession, especially during these times of such dramatic change. As we often focus our collective attention on the hard numbers (attempts to quantify just about every aspect of the healthcare delivery process), I’ll take this opportunity to admire our nurses’ work as a human, social, and emotional entity. The heart of nursing still entails two people sharing a healing experience in one way or another. PVMC’s nursing team demonstrates this simple truth each day and night, something for which we have developed a unique reputation all our own.

I take great pride in our nurses and offer a gracious “thank you” for all you do. You’re the best.

Happy Nurses’ Day,

Kurt

Nurses from Surgical Services gracefully pose for the camera. Nurses from all departments were featured on the hospital’s Facebook page last week.

Tune in to the ICE every two weeks for Planetree Perspective shorts. Each edition will include one or two short stories of great Planetree service from around our hospital.

Kathleen “Kat” Bogacz was caring for an elderly patient in the ICU. She mentioned a book to the patient and offered to read passages from it the following day. The patient was discharged the next day, before Kat could read to her. Kat was happy that the patient was well enough to be discharged, but disappointed that she didn’t get to read the book. A week later, the family received a copy of the book in the mail. If Kathleen had simply talked to the patient about the book and provided great care to the patient she would have MET the patient and family’s expectations, however Kathleen did not stop at meeting the patient’s expectations. She went to the next level. She took special effort to mail a book to the patient. That EXCEEDED the patient’s expectations. This is truly an excellent example of providing Patient Centered Care.

When patients are admitted to the hospital we collect a great deal of information; currently, there are least 29 different elements that nurses must chart for every patient. To ensure that we were capturing all of that information on every patient, every time, the ICU started to track all of those elements. Amy Vue, Unit Assistant, developed a tracking tool to collect data each month on every patient admitted to ICU or SDU. Each nurse was listed on the Admission data tool, as well as how much of the admission data they had actually collected on the patients they admitted. We then took all of this information and posted it in the ICU break room for all of us to see. The nurses were able to see how well they were doing, and used this information as an educational tool to identify areas that they could improve on.

In July we had 3 nurses who scored 100% on every admission they did for the entire month. Kathy Coons, Sarah Massengill, and Sara Russell all completed every element on every admission they did during July. We had several nurses who were almost perfect, Kelly Bergstrom, Joy Memmen, and Preston Klimper missed only 1 element on all of the admissions they completed.

Naomi first earned her CNRN five years ago, but let it expire when she was no longer working with neuro patients. Because Platte Valley Medical Center is pursuing JCAHO certification as a Primary Stroke Center, Naomi decided to re-certify in neuroscience nursing.

Within the field of nursing, the CNRN test is widely considered to be the most difficult. To prepare for the four-hour, 200+ question exam, Naomi purchased the text recommended by the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses and studied every day for six months. Naomi said that preparing for the CNRN not only tested her intellectually but also challenged her self-discipline.

Naomi is now the only CNRN nurse at Platte Valley Medical Center. The CNRN is awarded by the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses.

For some years now, Denver School of Nursing which offers an Associate Nursing, a Bachelor of Nursing and General Education degrees, has been sending their students to Platte Valley Medical Center for their Medical-Surgical clinical rotations. This opportunity has offered these students a wonderful and caring experience with PVMC’s patients and staff for which the School of Nursing is most appreciative.

In celebration of Certified Nurses’ Day, in the last issue of The ICE we acknowledged several PVMC nurses who have achieved certification in their areas of expertise. Now we get to recognize the efforts of our Women’s and Newborn Center team. When you encounter these wonderful nurses, please let them know how much you appreciate the hard work and dedication they demonstrate by achieving and maintaining their certifications:

Lorrie Eichholtz, RNC PP

Lisa Welch, RNC-N

Paula Barrella, RNC

Sharon Andreatta, RNC

Nina Chalmers, RNC-NIC

Karen Albrecht, RNC-NIC CCRN

Taira Garcia, RNC

Nancy Kast, CLC

Jennifer Karsten, CLC

Christine Salvi, CLC

Dianella Trevino, CLC

Amy Meyers, CLC

Brenda Bliss, CLC

Carrie Cullinane, IBCLC

Erika Townsend, IBCLC

Rebecca Matthys, IBCLC

Certification is a process by which a nongovernmental agency validates, based upon predetermined standards, an individual nurse’s qualifications for practice in a defined functional or clinical area of nursing. Nursing certification recognizes knowledge, skills, abilities, and experience in areas beyond the scope of RN licensure. Patients and families, employers, and nurses all benefit from certification.

Certification provides patients and families with the assurance that the nurse caring for them has demonstrated experience, knowledge and skills in their complex specialties.

Nursing certification benefits employers by creating an environment of professionalism and a culture of retention. Hospitals also can differentiate themselves from competitors by employing more certified nurses.

And nurses who are certified overwhelmingly report that it has enabled them to experience personal growth and feel more satisfied with their work.

This is an exceptional achievement and serves as a validation of our nurses’ commitment to career development and dedication to patient care.

In celebration of Certified Nurses’ Day, next Monday, March 19, we are pleased to acknowledge several PVMC nurses who have achieved certification in their areas of expertise. When you encounter these great nurses, please let them know how much you appreciate the hard work and dedication they demonstrate by achieving and maintaining their certifications:

ICU Nurses

Anariza Grush

Naomi Lee

MiJa Lee

Michele Siem

Anariza, Naomi, Lee, and Michele all have their CCRN, which is the certification for nurses working at the bedside of acutely critically ill patients. The CCRN is awarded to acute and critical care nurses who have met eligibility requirements, a total of 1750 hours of direct bedside care in the past two years and 875 in the most recent year, and the passing of a clinical certification exam. The certification is valid for three years and then the nurse must either re-test or renew the certification. In order to renew, the nurse must have 100 CERP’s (specialty education hours) and 452 hours of bedside care over the past three years.

Med/Surg/Peds Nurse

Gentry Mansur

Gentry Mansur recently became the first PVMC nurse to receive her Certified Medical-Surgical Registered Nurse credential, and at least three more nurses will receive their certification this year. All PVMC Medical Surgical nurses are encouraged to obtain their certification as this credential recognizes the highest standards of medical-surgical nursing practice have been achieved. Certification is bestowed successfully completing the MSNCB examination.

Surgical Services Nurses

Denise Bader

Denise recently received her American Board of Perianesthesia Nursing Certification (ABPANC) for care of patients post anesthesia. To be CPAN certified demonstrates a commitment to life-long learning and ensures Denise is committed to staying current in her specialty and demonstrates her ability to meet nationally recognized standards of achievement.

Pam Hernandez

Pam is the Surgical Services clinical coordinator. She is also a Registered Nurse, Certified in Labor and Delivery, which indicates she has been certified at the national level.

Mark Zamora

Mark has his CNOR certification for Operating Room Nurses. Earning the CNOR credential is a mark of distinction and a highly sought after personal as well as professional accomplishment. The CNOR credentialing program is for perioperative nurses interested in enhancing as well as validating their specialized knowledge and skills and providing the highest quality care to patients.

Certification is a process by which a nongovernmental agency validates, based upon predetermined standards, an individual nurse’s qualifications for practice in a defined functional or clinical area of nursing. Nursing certification recognizes knowledge, skills, abilities, and experience in areas beyond the scope of RN licensure. Patients and families, employers, and nurses all benefit from certification.

Certification provides patients and families with the assurance that the nurse caring for them has demonstrated experience, knowledge and skills in their complex specialties.

Nursing certification benefits employers by creating an environment of professionalism and a culture of retention. Hospitals also can differentiate themselves from competitors by employing more certified nurses.

And nurses who are certified overwhelmingly report that it has enabled them to experience personal growth and feel more satisfied with their work.

This is an exceptional achievement and serves as a validation of our nurses’ commitment to career development and dedication to patient care.

Editor’s Note: Due to tight ICE deadlines, we were unable to identify the certified nurses in the Emergency Department and Women’s and Newborn Center. We will, however, make reasonable efforts to include these individuals in an upcoming issue.

The ICE recently received the following wonderful letter of recognition of two Emergency Department nurses….

“I would like to take this opportunity to recognize two of the Emergency Departments’ unsung heroes. I am certain PVMC has many dedicated nurses, but am honored to recognize Mary McKenna, R.N., and Lori Thompson, R.N., for their outstanding customer service to patients and families as well as their devotion to Platte Valley Medical Center. They are the quiet heroes that often go unrecognized for consistently performing above and beyond every time they step through the hospital doors. These nurses are humble to the core and will tell you they are just doing what they are paid to do. It is an honor to bestow upon both nurses an award for “Outstanding Nursing Practice.” We are fortunate to have such remarkable employees and it is a pleasure to know that with such nurses greatness goes! Thank you both for your hard work, devotion and dedication, I am touched to be able to work with you!” Sincerely, Mary H. Feeney, Emergency Department director.

Darla Hiskett, RN, is one of 12 nurses featured in the photo display honoring PVMC nurses.

In recognition of Nurses’ Week, PVMC is pleased to share a photography tribute to recognize the work of PVMC’s nurses. On display in the hospital’s lobby beginning today, these photographs were taken by Marketing Manager Mark Baros and feature nurses throughout the facility in their natural elements at work.

“I invite you to take time to view these photographs,” explains Kurt Gensert. “Take a moment and reflect upon the many reasons you call yourself a nurse. Take pride in your nursing accomplishments and know that you are valued as one of PVMC’s most treasured benefits to this community!”

The twelve photographs on display were selected from over two hundred quality images taken over the course of a couple months. After their display period in the lobby, these photographs will be moved into the employee stairwells to brighten up these well traveled stairs.